Quote "I have a 2001 Chevy Silverado 2WD, regular cab, long bed, with a stock 4.3L V6". I had a 1992 and a 2000 Chevy extended cab with the same or similar engine. Both of them were about the same in performance. I found that I had to keep my foot in it on both of them to keep with traffic. Until I upgraded to a V-8 in 2004 I was not impressed with the performance of either. Both of the 6 cyls were okay on gas mileage 16-17 around town and 18-19 on hwy, but the 5.3 V-8 in the 2004 consistently gets 14-15.5 around town and 17.5 - 18.5 on hwy depending on driving conditions. The extra 2 cylinders make quite a difference. JMHO

 

yeah, I've looked around, and the 350 looks like a good replacement provided I decide to replace it.

 

i had a 96 4.3 sierra reg cab short box 5speed and a 89 silverado extended cab short box 350 700r4 both were 4wd's and had them both at the same time about 4-5 years ago both trucks got about 16-18mpg but the 350 truck had much more power the 4.3 truck. the 4.3 did fine unloaded but struggled towing a 14ft boat that i had at the time. around this time i started growing out of 1/2 ton trucks and went to a 3/4 ton after putting out the transmission in the 88. ever sense that i have vowed to always buy trucks with the largest motor available for that model truck. its kept me happy so far. the smaller motor has to work harder so the millage difference is not normally to bad. i like to have trucks that will do anything i ask them to. i do alot of towing. a 2-3mpg difference is not worth not having the power when you need it.

just my .02 i vote 350 swap or get another truck.

 

I'm not that concerned about gas mileage, but I don't want to be in the single digits either. It's a truck, so I'm not expecting more than 18 MPG out of a V8. I want to have more power when I need to get out of a tough spot fast or pass someone going up hill. I don't tow much, however, it would be nice to be able to tow more If i have to, but then I think I run into trouble with suspension. I recently was carrying a bed full of green pine cut up logs, and I could tell I was reaching the capacity because my front end felt like it was doing some floating. Also I noticed a few more groves in the pavement from when I grounded out pulling into my uphill driveway. So how difficult is it to change the gear ratio? Do I go and get a new back axle at a junkyard, or is there a kit I can buy?

 

get an axle from another truck in the junkyard. I believe Chevy's have the ratio on the diff or maybe it's in the glove box I can't remember off the top of my head. Straight swap, PB Blaster will be your friend btw.
I still vote motor swap though. You will not be disappointed, just make sure it's a 350 & not a 305.

 

how many milles on the ol girl?. if you want a quick one, build a 327. Use vortec heads and stock intake, my TPI conversion is PDQ. It is almost as quick as my supercharged GTP! there aint no 350 that can rap up as fast as a 327, with identical builds! period!!!! I can give you the rundown if you want to go that way.

 

The truck is practically brand new, it only has 125,000 miles. I'm not sure if the 327 would line up with the engine mounts.